The Paper Chase

I am sitting in the Stockholm airport, waiting for a train to take me to Nyköping to see my long-time friend Carina and her family. Since I last saw Carina 19 years ago, she has gotten married and had two adorable children. My adventure begins with her family, and I can't wait to get there!

This is the farthest I have ever traveled alone: San Francisco to Chicago, Chicago to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Stockholm, and now the train. It's proving pretty easy to get around, and I am good at asking people for help (always have been, it's a blessing [for me] and a curse [for everyone else that I bug]).

I must say, the people in Sweden are phenomenally nice so far. I went into a convenience store in the airport where I could get a printed copy of the train ticket that Carina had reserved for me, and the proprietor told me that he could do it for me, but there was a 20 kronor charge (that's about 3.50 USD) and I could print it for free from a kiosk upstairs. Nice guy. He said, "It's easy to use the machines and if you can't do it, then I just get to see you again when you come back down here to have me print it for you." It was, indeed, easy, and now I sit here at an internet cafe, ticket in hand, and will board my train in about another hour.

People in Germany? I have no idea; four hours in the airport and I don't think I heard more than three people even speak! It was like being in a library. This does NOT bode well for me and my loud, ever-present voice. Ah well, perhaps they are just bored with life and need a good, healthy dose of Janine!

But onto the paper issue....folks, you there in the US do NOT appreciate one of your greatest resources: toilet paper that is kind to your bum. The paper in Stockholm is rough, but the stuff in Frankfurt was downright abrasive. I could have taken some extra squares home to scour my sink. It occurred to me, whilst sitting on the toilet here in Stockholm, that I should collect a t.p. sample from every place I go, and put them all into a sort of "loo roll" scrapbook after I get home from my trip. But, I just can't bring myself to create such a scatological masterpiece, so I will just say it here: next time you go to the john, say a prayer of thanks to the toilet paper gods.

And now, I am off to find the train. I hope you all are happy and healthy, and I will try to blog as much as possible whilst here.

Kramar,
Janine